In addition to bringing you unique content each month, we enjoying pointing you in the general direction of some
meaty gear conversations that take place at The Gear Page. That’s where you can look for tips on mod projects,
lurk within discussions about vintage amps or hurl yourself into a conversation about the pros and cons of a particular boutique gear maker. Whatever it is you’re looking for, if it involves gear, we suspect you’ll find it. Below is
our latest fly-on-the-wall sampling of threads from the Gear Page.
been thinking about
switching to a
laptop-based rig.
imaguy2: I’m wondering what do you guys
use to amplify your laptop-based rigs at practice
or live? I guess I’m assuming most just use a PA.
Anyone try a JC 120?
hobbes1: i have a laptop based rig consisting
of Amplitube/StompIO. i run the out from
the StompIO into the power amp return on
a Fender Twin and bypass all the The Twin
preamp stage and just use the power amp
itself. it can take some tweaking of parameters
(disable cab sims), finding the right speakers
that sound good to you with the software
you are running. The Twin has tons of clean
headroom so no issues of unwanted distortion.
i can also use my Peavey 50/50 classic power
amp (EL84) to run a stereo setup. i plan on
building two 1x12 enclosures (or buying
inexpensive prebuilt ones) and loading with one
Eminence Delta pro 12a and one EV12L. i also
can run the peavey in a mono mode and use
Amplitube SVX into my mesa 1516 bass cab if i
wanna work on bass lines.
you could also use SS power amps and
unpowered monitors, powered monitors like the
QSC series, direct into PA (you might need a DI
box). there are tons of options and as modeling
gets better, i find myself moving more and
more into that direction and less into the blow
the roof off tube amp. with the modeling rigs,
volume can be whatever you want and tone can
be just as good at low volumes for practice as
they are for full gig experience. more and more,
i think power amps are the way to go. good
luck. it’s a fun way to spend some time, figuring
out all the alternatives and making it work for
you the way you want it to...
rsm: Well, I use software instruments for
keyboards. I run my MIDI controller keyboard
into my MacBook and run the headphone out
to a Bose L1 Model II System. Works great, and
whenever the SM Audio V-Pedal is released
and/or the Fractal Audio Axe-PC is released I
will use the same set-up for guitar. I also use the
Bose L1 for bass with a preamp or a SansAmp
DI and for guitar using various preamps and
modelers (no laptop yet). Any FRFR set-up
should work depending on what you are doing
in the software (are you using cabinet models /
IRs, mic models and positioning, etc. or not?)
bengychan: I’ve tried using Guitar Rig 2
live by going direct into the PA. It was tough,
for me at least, to get a good live tone
through the house speakers. I guess that’d
be down to my lack of tweaking prowess,
but I found it hard to replicate the tones I’d
try working out at home through some alesis
monitors and through headphones.
Having said that I guess having a good speaker/
monitor setup at home is of paramount
importance when using a laptop based rig to
tweak tones and play live, especially if you’re
intending to use it as a full and complete
‘modeler solution’.
imaguy2: I kind of like the idea of using the
power amp of a Twin. I’ve been running Guitar
Rig 2 and 4 at home on my desktop and I’ve
gotten some great sounds through my studio
monitors (using amp, cab, and mic sims). I have
never tried to use Guitar Rig at gig volumes,
but I’m guessing it could sound pretty decent
if set up right. I guess I figured an amp with
a pretty flat EQ would sound good (like one
of the Roland keyboard amps). Maybe a tube
amp could add some additional liveliness to the
sound though.
bengychan: Exactly what I was saying - just
needs to be tweaked to suit the venue, but
man, it’s a steep learning curve that favours the
patient and persistent.
I might be going off on a tangent here, but
having already used guitar rig and waves, I’d say
that the waves amps and modelling present a
better plug and play option - the tones are just
there, at least through my home monitors and
headphones. I’ve not used the waves stuff live
since I’ve moved over the Eleven Rack for that.
Jkos: Perhaps the Atomic Reactor amps
would be of interest. They are full range, tube
amp based cabinets made especially for use
with modelers. They have a great reputation for
making modelers sound even more like a great
all tube setup while allowing for full use of cab
and mic sims.
(un)official Melancon
Guitars thread
- Come on in...
scott Peterson: The Melancon Forum is
no more. Sigh. So it struck me as a good idea
to start an (Un)Official Melancon Guitars thread
here on TGP.
Gerard is a one man shop; he’s building guitars
in Thibodaux, Louisiana with some of the best
quality tone-woods and craftsmanship on Earth.
The tones, playability, resonant necks, top
notch finishing, pristine workmanship in
crafting these guitars has stood the test of
time for me. My main guitar has had 2 partial
refrets and I wore the finish off the back
the “T” from simply playing them so much.
Everything from hard rock, country, funk, pop,
classic rock, R&B and Motown has been no
problem for these two guitars.
His guitars can hang with ANY of the big
boys, the high end boutique guys or anyone
else. They are world class and deserve to be
talked about.
scott Peterson: Hey and what the heck
is a Melancon Guitars thread without pictures
from me of my two Melancons? ;)
My 2004 Melancon
Custom Artist “S”: Koa
top over chambered
Swamp Ash, +. 40
oversize neck carve,
Koa dot fretboard
inlays, Koa humbucker
ring; WCR Goodwood/
SR/SR (H/S/S) pickups,
Stellartone electronics,
206 PREMIER GUITAR JANUARY 2010
